The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Hydraulic fracturing is a well known technique for improving the producibility and/or injectibility of a well. Hydraulic fracturing fluids can be expensive, can damage the permeability of the subterranean formations connected to the well, and can create disposal problems when they are flowed back to the surface after a fracture treatment. During a fracture treatment, some of the hydraulic fracture fluid may leak off into the formation through the fracture face through the natural permeability of the formation and through natural fractures in the formation. Fluid-loss materials may be added to the hydraulic fracturing fluid to reduce this fluid loss to the formation, but such materials can themselves damage the formation permeability at the fracture face or by invasion into the formation itself. Further, fluid loss materials can further damage the proppant pack permeability in the hydraulic fracture. Accordingly, there is a need for further improvements in this area of technology.